Steve Leonard, Pacifica Capital Investments Add to R.G. Barry Corp. (DFZ) Position

Steve Leonard and his fund, Pacifica Capital Investments, are betting big on R.G. Barry Corp. (NASDAQ:DFZ). According to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Pacifica has increased its holding of R.G. Barry stock from 522,260 shares  to approximately 1.2 million shares. The fund’s new position accounts for 11.32% of the company’s common stock.

Chuck Royce, the manager of Royce & Associates is also bullish on this stock. During the third quarter of 2013, Royce & Associates have increased their holding of R.G. Barry Corp. (NASDAQ:DFZ) stock to 1.45 million shares valued at $27.5 million. Jim Simons has increased his fund’s exposure to R.G. Barry by 8%. Renaissance Technologies currently holds 319,800 shares reportedly worth a little over $6 million. Cliff Asness and Aqr Capital Management are also keeping tabs, with the fund holding 53,785 shares valued at $1 million.

R.G. Barry Corp. (NASDAQ:DFZ) engages in the production and sale of footwear and accessories. From the start of the year the stock has advanced 24% to a current price of $19.07. R.G. Barry has a market cap of $217 million and shares are traded at a Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio of 18.66. The stock has a beta of 0.21 and pays an annual dividend of $0.36, which represents a yield of 1.9%.

For the quarter ended September 28, 2013, R.G. Barry reported revenues of $41.9 million and Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $0.41, a 22.4% year-over-year decrease.  Greg Tunney, President and Chief Executive Officer, said:

We are obviously disappointed in our first quarter results, but ours has never been a quarter-to-quarter business. Holiday shipments to retailers can occur in either the first or second quarter, based upon retailer needs; and retail sell-through during the Christmas season has significant impact on our rate of profitability. We are working with our customers to maximize our in-store performance between now and December 31

Analysts expect the company to perform better in the current quarter. They expect revenues of $51 million and EPS of $0.47. The stock price is expected to rise to a mean target of $21.5 per share.

Disclosure: nine

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